Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian
Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect and poet. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the
disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal
Renaissance man, along with his rival and fellow Florentine Leonardo da Vinci.
Michelangelo's output in every field during his long life was prodigious; when the sheer volume of correspondence, sketches
and reminiscences that survive is also taken into account, he is the best-documented artist of the 16th century. Two of his
best-known works, the Pietà and the David, were sculpted in his late twenties to early thirties. Despite his low opinion of
painting, Michelangelo also created two of the most influential fresco paintings in the history of Western art: the scenes
from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgement on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Later in life he designed
the dome of St Peter's Basilica in the same city and revolutionised classical architecture with his invention of the giant
order of pilasters. -Wikipedia (Read more...)